Monday, May 10, 2010
The Center for the Jewish Past
This Shabbat we had a friend from Israel for lunch. We started discussing the topic of aliyah, and he turned to us and said, "Do you really want to stay in America, the Center for the Jewish Past?" After first laughing at this witty remark, I started to think more about it. He was presenting the approach the the future of Judaism lies in Israel, not outside of Israel. What do you think? Agree or disagree?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Personally, I disagree with that. Just because we live in chutz l'Aretz doesn't mean that Judaism can't thrive here. We learned in JPhil that we're supposed to be orei l'goyim for non Jews to show them how to act appropriately. In America, or anywhere else that's chutz l'Aretz, we have a greater opportunity to be orei l'goyim while we can fulfill our Judaism for ourselves by keeping the mitzvot, just as we would do in Israel. While it's true that in Israel, one is closer to Hashem and it's a holier place, I think Judaism can still thrive in chutz l'Aretz as long as the people living in those places preserve Judaism and teach their children to preserve Judaism.
I think that Tziporah raises a great point, and a great comfort to those of us who still choose to stay in CHU"L. On the other hand, see above.
Post a Comment